


After the Madness

by SoraDiesInKH3



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-08
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-10-24 16:00:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17707304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoraDiesInKH3/pseuds/SoraDiesInKH3
Summary: The Dark Seeker has been torn down from his haughty perch, the celebratory beach party is over, and everyone has gone home. The story ended for some of our friends, but some still search for meaning. It is unfair that a journey that began with three should end with only one, and so the cycle begins anew.





	1. A Bittersweet Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This will be a series following the end of Kingdom Hearts 3. This contains spoilers for all information in Kingdom Hearts 3, including the secret movie, as well as spoilers for all information in the game The World Ends With You. I consider this work to be a Kingdom Hearts story. Though I've listed some "pairings" above, anything indicated in Kingdom Hearts, even slightly, should be considered fair game to implement at any time, both in friendship and romance. Each chapter will have its own rating. Comments feed me so that I can write more fic, please leave kind ones!

Chapter Rating: PG-13

* * *

The beach party was over, and it was just as well since Riku hadn’t been in much of a celebratory mood. The smell of barbecue had wafted his way from the grill, the frisbee Axel brought for them to play with had whizzed dangerously close to his head, and there had been joy in the air that just couldn’t penetrate the stormy darkness clouding his heart.

Riku remained on the beach until the last, as each of Sora’s visiting friends vanished into the sky. He noticed how much smaller their tiny island of play seemed now that he was much larger, but the ocean was very much the same, vast and open.

Amongst the clouds in his chest, jealousy lurked, as well. Axel had gripped his two friends so fiercely, and Aqua hers. Riku was the only one left alone.

It made sense. They were never really a trio. It had been an illusion to protect Sora’s image of them. Kairi and he rarely spoke without Sora sitting right there, a silent agreement between them to keep the magic alive for Sora; otherwise they barely acknowledged each other’s existence. He’d felt a sense of relief when Kairi suggested he help Mickey find Aqua, instead of going along with Yen Sid’s plan of him training Kairi and Lea.

And while it would have been a far cry to say he expected Sora’s sudden, strange burst of energy to rekindle the flame with Kairi that had pushed Riku to darkness two years before, it didn’t surprise him. What _had_ shocked him to the core were those words Sora had spoken in his panic, that he no longer had any strength, that his friends were gone...though Riku stood right there beside him.

Riku’s lip trembled, and tears began to roll down his face before he could stop them. He placed a hand over his eyes, and began to cry silently, his body shivering in the icy chill of loneliness.

“Pull it together,” he whispered to himself, smacking his cheek firmly. “He was afraid. He didn’t mean it. You know that.” Riku _did_ know that, but it didn’t stop the pain searing through his heart just recalling it. He struck himself harder, a bright red welt forming. “And even if he did mean it, you’re not doing this for recognition.”

With a few heaving breaths, Riku managed to calm himself, and stretched out to lie back in the sand. “That’s right,” he repeated to himself. “You’re not doing this for accolades. You’re doing this because...you love Sora more than anything.”

“That’s the first time you’ve ever said it aloud, right?” a voice came from behind him, making Riku jump with a yell, his face turning bright red.

Damn. Someone had heard him?

“Relax, Riku, it’s just me,” Namine chuckled.

His shoulders slumped, sand now stuck in very uncomfortable places. “Didn’t realize you hadn’t left. Heard everything, huh?”

Namine gave a knowing nod, only looking sheepish for Riku’s benefit. “More or less. I won’t tell.”

Riku sighed and leaned his face into his hands. “I know you won’t. Just feel kind of exposed to the elements out here. It’s like being caught with my pants down.”

“If it makes you feel any better,” Namine began, leaning forward with a bright smile. “I already know what you look like with your pants down. Sora had plenty of those memories.”

Riku turned very slowly to Namine, stiff as a robot, grimacing. “ _Thaaaaaaaanks_ , Namine,” he said sarcastically. “I feel _so_ much better now.”

Namine played dumb. “Anytime! But you can talk to me if you want. I missed everything that happened, and part of me still feels strange and uneasy being separated from Kairi.” She looked around the beach, then back to Riku. “I noticed her and Sora weren’t here.”

She left it there, not wanting to pry for memories that clearly caused Riku pain, though she had known instantly upon waking what had happened to Kairi.

“Yeah,” Riku murmured, looking back out over the ocean as the sun began to set on the islands. “It’s a long story. Part of me still can’t believe I really let him go alone.”

Namine listened as Riku explained it all, took in every breath of anguish, every pained sigh, every quiver of his voice as he ran through all of it from beginning to end, everything that had happened since the last time they’d seen each other.

“I see,” she responded when he was done, touching his knee gingerly. “You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you?”

Riku sniffed and rubbed his red, swollen eyes. “It’s just...I _know_ he didn’t mean it like that. But at the time, the Heartless were bearing down on us, and I thought…” He pressed a hand firmly to his chest, gripping his shirt. “I thought that it would be fine if I gave my life, this life he saved, back to him. No... _more_ than that, I felt like I _wanted_ to do it, _wanted_ to die.” His eyes were still wet when he looked back at Namine. “Isn’t that crazy?”

Namine shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“I’m a pretty good keyblade wielder... _master_ now. The right thing to do, the _smart_ thing, would have been to grab Sora and run through a dark portal until we could figure out another plan. But Namine, when he said that to me…” Riku stared at his trembling hands, clenched them into fists to quell the shaking, though that didn’t stop a fresh flow of tears from running down his cheeks. “...I shut down. I stopped thinking about how to save him. And only wanted to die for him.”

Namine’s hand slid to his thigh and she squeezed, her face reflecting Riku’s pain.

“I knew I wasn’t cut out for this Master stuff. Sora’s _my_ strength. And without him, it’s me who’s nothing. Pathetic, huh?”

“No, you’re not,” Namine whispered. “And they’ll be back soon.” She placed a hand over her heart. “I can feel that Kairi’s okay, and I think Sora’s already found her.”

Riku heaved a heavy sigh of relief, and nodded. “That’s a comfort. Thank you, Namine.” He patted his cheeks. “Geez. I’m a mess.”

“You’re good-looking, so I’ll allow it.”

The laugh felt long coming to both of them.

Riku clapped his hands together. “So where are you staying? Twilight Town? Fly you home?”

“Eh, I’m not really attached to Twilight Town. I’m thinking about ditching the dress too. White everything seems kind of...cloying? Thought I might stay here for a while, since it’s...where I’m really from. I think it would be fun to make my own memories of this place.”

“Do you need a place? I’ve got plenty of room, and my dad’s not in too often so he won’t bother you much. It’s a big house.”

Namine seemed a little incredulous, but nodded and smiled. “I guess I could make due with that for now, if it’s alright, of course.”

Riku stood and held out his hand to her. “You bet. Anytime.”

* * *

With Namine settled in her room, Riku retreated to his, surprised at how...normal it was, and perhaps how outdated. His father had cleaned it sometime after the islands were restored, but there were still all sorts of posters on the walls, action figures that he wasn’t interested in but that he’d begged for only so Sora could play with them. It was a remnant of a life he could never return to, a leftover scrap from a person he never wanted to be again. He had spent so many of those days coming up with schemes to make Sora _his_ , in any sense of that word that felt _absolute_.

Remembering it made him feel sick.

He considered dumping everything into a bag and taking it out, but the much needed cry had been exhausting. He’d put the whole toybox out, and figure out who the new him was going to be in the morning.

For now, Riku pulled off his jacket and his pants and collapsed into a bed that barely fit him anymore. He’d need a queen size, but for the moment it was soft enough to fall asleep in…

_Dodododooooooooo do doooo dodooo._

The awkward jerk he gave and the crick in his neck told Riku that he’d drifted off. That was his gummiphone ringing. He reached out, realizing it was in his pants pocket on the floor, sighed and lifted himself to grab it properly and hit the green button.

“Riku? It’s Riku! He answered!”

He blinked to clear his vision and squinted at the phone as his eyes adjusted to the light. “...Roxas? Do you even _know_ what time it is here?”

Roxas looked half-exasperated, half-pissed off, and Riku could see Xion and Axel lurking in the background. “It’s late, I know, Xion and I just woke up ourselves a few minutes ago, both in a _lot_ of pain. _Something’s wrong with Sora._ ”

That woke Riku up, and he nearly smashed his lamp trying to turn on the light. “What the _hell_ do you mean?” he growled, feeling his bad mood intensify. Xion grabbed the phone from Roxas. “Let me talk to him, you’re going to make him upset!” Riku could hear from the other end as the phone went dark for a moment.

“Tell me what’s going on. _Now._ ”

Xion appeared on the other end. “Riku, Roxas and I were both having the same dream. Even though we’re our own people, we’re still connected to Sora, at least for now. We saw him, he found Kairi, she’s okay, and then...it’s hard to explain--”

Riku was hyperventilating, so badly his voice sounded like the wheeze of an old man. “ _Try._ ”

Roxas yelled at the phone from off screen, his voice a bit muffled as if Axel was trying to keep him controlled. “ _Sora collapsed and then Xion and I woke up in pain so bad we were screaming._ ”

Xion turned her head and threw her arm up in aggravation. “Sorry about this Riku, especially after everything that’s happened. We don’t know what going on with him for sure, but it felt like...he’s been cut off from us. Like our connection got chopped with an axe. It _really hurt_.”

Riku stopped hearing, promptly hung up the phone, reached for his clothes with the clunky movements of a man possessed and leapt out of his window to the ground, running top speed toward the beach.

His plan was simple. Go to the small island. Open a portal and go find Sora and Kairi.

Riku doublejumped and was pulling into a glide when a bright flash of light in the night sky drew his attention, and he braced his eyes against it just in time for it to dissipate, and for a slender figure to fall from the sky in front of him and land in the water.

That looked like…

“KAIRI!” he yelled, lighting a triple firaga behind him to get there faster, diving into the water to grab her and bring her to shore.

She wasn’t unconscious, just dazed, and she blinked through furrowed brows, jerking a little in surprise. “R--Riku? What are you doing here?”

Oh no.

“Kairi, you’re back on Destiny Islands. Sora must have found you and sent you back. Where is he?”

Kairi sat up slowly, pressed a hand to her head and groaned in pain. “The _islands_? Ugh, my head…”

They didn’t have time to waste, but if Kairi had been wherever Sora was now, it would be the fastest to wait for her to rest a little. The knowledge didn’t do anything to quell Riku’s growing anxiety, his palms began to sweat as he waited, his mouth running bone dry.

She finally sat up, looking around, feeling the sand stick to her wet legs, her face confused as she met Riku’s eyes. “Sora-- _Sora!_ We were...I can’t remember exactly where. He was holding me and we were flying, and then…” She touched her lips gingerly, as the memory slowly rose to the surface, and peered up at Riku.

Sora had found her, and taken her to a world that he thought was beautiful. There were lots of flashing lights, big buildings, it was unlike anything she had seen before. They’d spent the day, doing nothing but eating, talking, holding hands...they’d had a dance right at sunset, and then they were going for dinner at nightfall. Sora picked her up, and they were flying, and then he’d kissed her, and then…

“Monsters. I...they didn’t look like Heartless or Nobodies. I’d never seen them before. They...had weird symbols on them...like...the symbols were part of them. It’s hard to describe. Sora pulled out his keyblade but...it didn’t work on them.” Kairi pressed her hand firmly to her head.

Horror seeped into Riku’s features. “What happened then?” he whispered.

Staring down to her side, Kairi clenched her fist. “Sora kept trying to fight but _something_ was wrong, he wasn’t his usual self, somehow. I called mine but I’m not--I’m terrible at this, so I opened a keyhole to take us back here, but somebody...a girl with weird wings took a swing at me, and--” Her voice petered out, and then she tugged the hood of her dress forward.

Riku’s felt the icy chill of fear pierce his chest. It was covered in blood.

“So it did happen,” Kairi whispered. “He tried to protect me, and that woman stabbed him through the chest. Instead of _me_. I--I felt something land on my back…” She twisted to look. A stream of blood, directly across the center of her back from the waist up. “And then a man shoved me through the portal and it closed behind me, and then I was here.”

Kairi wrapped her arms around herself and began to shake. “I couldn’t do anything but watch,” she murmured, his mouth curving into a broken smile as the weight of what she’d just seen finally landed with a crushing blow. “I’ve _never_ been able to do anything for him.”

Riku’s arms fell from Kairi’s shoulders and he stared with glassy eyes at the sand. There was a song playing, that Riku distantly realized was his ringtone, but he made no move to answer.

_You let him go alone._

_You knew that Young Xehanort had said something about Sora paying a price._

_You knew he hadn’t ever really gone anywhere alone._

_You knew he hadn’t restored all of his original abilities._

_It’s your fault. It’s_ your _fault._

Riku’s entire body sagged, pulled down by the weight of increasing depression. His vision was fading in and out, large dark spots swimming into view. He felt dizzy, he felt like--

 _Oh snap_ out _of it, you pathetic fuck_ , another voice supplanted.

Riku looked up, the fuzz clearing. He knew that voice. After all, there was only one person who would speak to him with the contempt he truly deserved.

Himself.

_So if everything Kairi said is true, you’re gonna sit here and cry about it? You’re gonna have a nervous breakdown and collapse?_

The wet sand underneath his clenched fist was suddenly so tangible, as numbness lifted.

_How does that help? How does that save Sora’s life? You’re so fucking worthless._

Sitting back on his heels, Riku sucked in several slow, deep breaths before returning to his feet.

_If you have time to cry, you have time to figure out if he can be saved._

“Yeah…” he whispered to no one, turning toward the ocean. Kairi looked up at him, her eyes pleading.

“Riku, please…”

_Save Sora._

“Kairi. There’s no need to cry, or worry. I’ll bring him back.” Riku turned back to her, a look that might have been suave ruined by swollen red eyes, nose, lips. “You know how Sora is. Always off in his own world. Why would he change now?”

It was so easy to believe in Riku when he was like that, Kairi realized, wiping tears from her eyes, and standing up, feeling a chill in the evening wind.

“Everything is just a world, right? So there’s no reason I can’t go to the one he’s in now.”

Kairi nodded. “I’m sorry, Riku,” she whispered, knowing he’d understand what the apology was for.

“It’s nothing,” Riku returned, though his voice was a bit sour. “I’m off to go get him. Namine is staying at my house. You still have a key, right?”

That surprised her. “Y--yes. I’ll go bring her to my house.”

“Thanks. See you.”

With his keyblade aimed at the sky, Riku leapt into the air, and was gone in a flash of light.

* * *

The skinny model girl with the short bob dyed auburn and wings that resembled a metal gate scratched her head as she stared at her partner in crime, an even taller, scrawnier strawberry blond sucking on a lollipop, and shaking a dead, cooling body at him.

“Ugh! Dead bodies are _disgusting_ ! What am I supposed to like, _do_ with this?” she said with a disgusted face. “They squirt blood everywhere. Can’t we just leave it? We have his heart already. That’s all you _need_ for the game.”

The man took a long, loud lick of the lolly and pulled it out of his mouth with an even louder pop. His wings, the same deep purple-black as hers, more resembled lace. “The Conductor says we’re supposed to bring _everything_ back with us. Unless you want to defy him, I _suggest_ you hold onto the body. Remember that he promised us a lot of points for this job. We won’t have to work the next 20 games if we don’t want.”

The model flicked a few drops of blood from her clothing, a fashionable skintight dress that settled around her hips as a fluffy tutu skirt. “I _like_ work, unlike you. Player hunting is always so much fun. But this is like, totally the first time we’ve been Player hunting in the RG. And it’s like, _really_ far away from our UG. Didn’t Kariya like, tell us this was totally against a law or something?”

The man shrugged. “The Conductor said it was a special request directly from the Composer, and he’s not the kind of guy to lie. It’s probably fine to break a law if he says so. We’re done here, so let’s get back to the UG before people start wondering.”

“Okayyyy,” she replied in a singsong voice before tossing the limp, cooling body at him. “But _you_ get to carry the body. It’s too bad. He was kind of adorable. But it was _super_ fun to get him while he was on a date with his little girlfriend.”

“H--hey!” the man yelled, barely managing to catch the corpse, dropping his lollipop in the process. “Gross,” he muttered before hoisting it on his back. “Maybe during my long vacation, I can go pick up the little lady for some fun.”

Lifting a gloved hand, the girl opened a dark portal and began to head through. “You’re _such_ a dork. No cute girl would ever go out with you. _Loser!_ ”

“Wanna make a wager?” came the response from the man as he followed, Sora’s body in tow, leaving nothing behind but a few splashes of blood on the pavement...

* * *

“Riiikuuuuu…” Namine called, poking her head out from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her. “Riku? I need help figuring out how to turn the hot water on in this shower...can you help me?”

No answer.

“Riku! I want to take a shower, are you already asleep? You never used to sleep this early…” She padded silently to his door and knocked. “Riku? You awake?”

Nothing.

Namine slowly turned the knob and opened it a little. “I’ll let you sleep as long as you want, _after_ I get a shower. It’s not my fault you changed the bathroom since the last time Kairi was here. Hello…?”

She pushed the door wide open. Nobody there at all, and an open window. A flash of light piqued her interest, and she could just barely make out Riku jumping through a keyhole he must have opened.

Namine huffed and walked (more loudly) back to the bathroom. “Cold shower it is.”

* * *

Xion hit the red button on the phone and looked at Roxas with narrowed eyes. “It’s no good. He wasn’t picking up, and now the phone’s not connecting at all. He’s probably in a portal on his way out.” She shoved Roxas with her shoulder. “I _told_ you to explain it to him _gently_. He’s probably rushing off to do something dangerous!”

Axel had a firm grip on Roxas’ arms to keep him from grabbing the phone back, and when Roxas pouted and went limp, he let go so they could both get up off the floor. Scratching fiercely at his scalp, looking way out of his element, Axel watched the interaction between his two friends silently. Roxas hunched over and hanged his head, looking sheepish.

“Well _shit_ ,” Roxas muttered. “What do we do about it?”

“I know I’m not...you know, part of this Sora-Riku...thing that’s happening,” Axel began. “But if you don’t mind, I have---”

“How should _I_ know? Riku is really hard to understand!”

“He _is_! Always showing up places and beating people up!”

“Wait, he did that to you?”

“He _didn’t_ do that to you?”

“Of course not, _you_ defeated me, Roxas, remember?”

“...ohhhh. _Yeah_ . Okay, wow, I forgot t--wait! So then Riku waited for me to beat _you_ , and then came and _beat me_?”

“Okay, okay, okay!” Axel stepped in between his two friends. “I’m calling lead as your senior in the Organization and...just...cause I’m older than you!”

Roxas snorted at Axel, but grinned. “Uh, who died and made you leader?”

Xion seemed to agree. “Yeah, I’m way smarter than both of you blockheads, so _I_ should be leading.”

“Both of you are made out of Sora, so _neither_ of you are smarter than me!” came the sharp retort from Axel, his face serious until he realized both Xion and Roxas were laughing at him, turning his face a deeper shade than his hair.

“Sorry, Axel...we’re just playing with you,” Xion apologized.

“Speak for yourself! I was _completely_ serious,” Roxas laughed, nudging her.

“Anyway, as the first one made out of Sora, I technically have seniority over you after Axel. That makes you the baby of the group,” Xion informed him.

“Get _real_ !” Roxas retorted. “How do you know _you_ came first? I joined the Organization first! That’s why _I’m_ number XIII and _you’re_ number XIV.”

“I might not have _joine_ _d_ first, but I was _alive_ first. _Ergo_ , you are the baby, Roxas.”

“Axel, are you listening to this mess?”

Axel trudged over to a corner, watching his two friends, his shoulders sagging in exhaustion. He’d been woken up from his own solid sleep to the screams of his two best friends, and most of their conversations since their reunion had gone just like this. He rarely could get a word in edgewise. Still, he wouldn’t have it any other way, and his heart was full with the love he felt for both of them.

It was also full of extreme sleepiness and general confusion.

“I...have no idea what’s going on anymore, but uh, maybe we should talk about how to help Riku figure out more about what happened to Sora?

“...oh _yeah_ ,” they both said in unison.

“Let’s make it easy,” Roxas began. “And just go over there and talk to him in person.”

Axel opened his mouth to respond--

“Makes sense to me,” Xion added. “I’ll start the portal.”

“Ok, but--” Axel tried to interject.

“Great, I’ll get us packed,” Roxas replied.

“How did I end up as the sidekick to the Wonder Twins, here?” Axel huffed to himself. At this rate, he was never going to get a chance to do anything cool or heroic ever again.

* * *

**End Chapter 1.**


	2. The Wakeup Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora rises from a deep sleep only to be thrust into a Shinigami game, an attempt by his friends to bypass the punishment given to him for misusing the Power of Waking. Meanwhile, Riku learns of his Darkness' true form.

**Chapter Rating: PG**

* * *

 

“Nngh…” Sora groaned, shifting. His face was lying against something hard, rough, and slightly wet, and his body felt like it just took a blow from a Big Body Heartless. “Aarggh…” he groaned again, opening one eye and then the other, moving his tongue around in his mouth to help with the stark taste of rusty metal.

He lifted his head a little as his vision cleared, water dripping down the side of his face. Great. He’d fallen out in a puddle. Wherever he was, it was bright. People walked by, their feet stepping around him. There was the sound of a crowd.

Sora jerked, bringing him deeper into wakefulness. _Huh_?

He stood slowly, looking around. He was on a street, no, in the middle of the street, a crowded one, besides! It was the middle of the day, the sun was high in the sky.

Where the heck _was_ he?

Ugh. His head was killing him. He pressed a hand to his forehead, tracing his steps in his mind.

He went to look for Kairi. He found her. He took her on a pretty darn good date. Sora paused his recollection for a moment to pat himself on the back for that, fancying himself quite the suave casanova. Strange monsters attacked him and Kairi. “Kairi managed to get through a keyhole back home,” Sora murmured aloud to himself. “And then…” He held his hands out in front of him as if to ‘voila!’ the answer into his head.

It didn’t work, but he did notice one of his fists was clenched around a small, flat object. Opening his fingers, he saw a strange pin, with an even stranger symbol on it.

Sora blinked. “Ooookay,” he toned, shoving the pin in his pocket. “So I don’t remember everything that happened. How about where I am?” He looked up. He didn’t recognize any of the buildings, though the city atmosphere reminded him of his time in Sanfransokyo. One tall building in the distance stood out.

“One...oh...four?” Sora sounded out, shrugging. “Don’t know _where_ I am, either! Cool. I can handle this. I definitely, _absolutely_ , don’t need _anyone’s_ help right now. _At all_.” He looked around at the crowd. No one so much as twitched in his direction.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Sora began to roll his wrist. “How about _this_ then?” he joked to himself, holding his hand out in front of him to summon the keyblade.

Nothing appeared.

Now _that_ was strange.

Sora cracked his back and stretched his limbs. “Must be tired. Let’s try that again.” He held his hand out.

Nothing.

“Okay!” he squeaked, panic edging into his voice. “I might need some help!” Stepping in front of one of the people walking past him, Sora grinned sheepishly. “Uh, hi, I just need to find out where I am, if you could...help...me…”

The person, in an amazing maneuver, walked right around him without even lifting their gaze from their phone. Sora shoved his hands in his pockets in frustration, fingering the strange pin.

Maybe he was _really_ in trouble this time.

“Agh--!” A loud, electronic sound rang out in his head, and all of a sudden, he could hear voices, voices very loud and clear. People’s thoughts? If Sora focused, he found he could tune out the others and listen only to a specific person.

“What is going on?” he breathed, pulling the pin out of his pocket to look at it. The voices immediately stopped. “Is...is it because of this pin?” Sora ran his finger over the emblem. The voices reappeared. Once more, and the voices stopped.

“That’s it! This is starting to make me mad, so I’m going to need whatever Heartless, Nobody, whatever is behind this to quit it already!”

No response from the crowd. No one even looked his way.

“Tch. This is so stupid,” he said, dropping the pin on the ground. Another electronic beep sounded from his pocket, and Sora smacked himself in the head.

“Duh! My gummiphone! I can call someone to help me get out of here!” Ignoring the Unread Message notification, he tapped into his contacts and scrolled down with his thumb. When he hit ‘S’, Sora paused, staring at his phone.

Nothing was wrong, but somehow, he couldn’t deny the strange sensation rising in his gut.

“That’s weird.” Sora frowned and turned the phone over, but it was definitely his. Shaking his head, he scrolled up to ‘K’. “Let’s just call Kairi.”

He brought the phone to his ear, and it rang twice before beeping strangely. “The number you have dialed is either out of range or out of service. Please try your call again later.”

“What? No way!” Sora tried the call four more times, but none connected. He tried his other friends, but the response was the same. He pushed his hand into his hair, running out of ideas.

“It’s a new world, right? So...just treat this like any other new world. Then it’ll be fine.”

The gummiphone beeped again, this time louder. The Unread Message notification. He checked it.

 _Reach 104. You have 60 minutes. Fail, and face erasure._ _  
_ _\-- The Reapers_

Sora let out an exasperated sigh. “I don’t have time for riddles, I’ve gotta figure out how I’m getting out of here!” A violent pain ran through his right hand and he yelped, lifting his palm to take a look at it. “ _Geez_ , what is going on in this crazy--”

His voice died in this throat.

Across his palm, seared into the flesh to form a deep wound, was a timer. He recognized it, Neku had one in the same place during the Mark of Mastery exam. It read 59:48, 47, 46…

But why did _he_ have one _now_? Sora wracked his brains, trying to remember what Neku had told him.

“Something about a game,” Sora mumbled to himself, closing his eyes to better focus. “And that this timer made him a Player.” Neku hadn’t given much of an explanation, and even if he had, Sora probably wouldn’t have remembered or understood.

“So does this mean I’m a Player? What am I s’posed to do as a Player?”

“Sheesh, you are _really_ hopeless, you know that?” an oddly familiar voice answered.

* * *

“Riku, we’re--” Xion began as she burst out of the portal onto the beach, looking around to find him before Roxas and Axel toppled out and knocked her to the ground.

Roxas, the lucky one who ended up on top, leaned upward to get a better look. “...he’s not here.”

“I was trying to tell you!” burst from Axel’s mouth, taking advantage of the split second lull in conversation. “Xion said his phone was out of range, right? Because he’d already left in a portal?”

“Oh yeah…”

“Get off already!” Xion grouched, lifting her hand and casting a barrier spell to shove them a few inches in the air, just enough to roll out from under them. “Let’s look around anyway. Roxas and I pretty much know the island.”

“Um...uh…” a voice came from nearby. “Axel and...Roxas, right? Sorry, I don’t know--”

The three turned to the voice, to see a wet Kairi walking beside them, her dress bundled up in her arms. Taking a night swim, perhaps?

Xion looked at her face, and Kairi looked back. Nearly identical, except for the hair color.

“Ohhhhhh,” Roxas said with a nod. “I forgot about this. Sorta freaky when it’s right in front of you.”

Axel stepped in, his head bowed apologetically. “This is Xion. She’s...that friend I told you about. And Xion, this is Kairi.”

Xion bit the inside of her lip. “I know who she is,” she whispered back.

Kairi bowed her head. “Xion. It’s nice to meet you, finally. Axel hasn’t told me much but...I know he’s glad you’re back with us.”

It was just awkward for both of them to stare at their own faces. Kairi tried to soften the pressure with a weak laugh. “Wait until you meet Namine. We’re gonna be triplets.”

It took a few moments, but Xion suddenly burst out laughing, which caused the others to follow suit.  

“You’re totally right,” Xion said with a nod. “I--wow. Three of us. Thankfully, we’re all pretty cute. Maybe we should all model.”

Kairi laughed into her hand. “ _Model_ ? _Me_?”

“Don’t worry, Axel will teach you everything he knows. I’ll be the goth one, you’ll be the smart one, and Namine can be...the willowy star child. It could work.”

“That…” Kairi paused to chuckle. “It does sound pretty interesting.”

“ _Anyway_ ,” Roxas interrupted. “Kairi, have you seen Riku? Something happened to--” He stopped that train of conversation after a nasty look from Xion. “--w-we really need to find him.”

Kairi shook her head, her eyes downcast and still red from crying. “I’m sorry, he just left. Did you feel something? Is that why you came?”

Roxas stuck his tongue out at Xion. _See, she already knew._

Xion not-so-suavely flipped him off before turning back to Kairi. “Yeah. Don’t worry about it, if Riku’s on the job, he’ll definitely figure out what happened. I’m sure Sora’s fine. You know how they are.”

Kairi certainly did. She gave a slow nod, pushing a smile back onto her face. “I have to go pick Namine up, do you all want to come? I didn’t get to welcome her back properly before.”

Axel nodded, somehow feeling overly tall. “I didn’t get to say much to her at the party, and she seemed like she wanted quiet time anyway.”

“You had a party? Tell me about it. Since I missed it. And let me borrow that jacket? My dress was...torn.”

As Axel and Kairi headed toward the dock, Roxas leaned into Xion. “You think Axel likes her? Because it _kinda_ makes me wanna kick his ass.”

Xion stared at Roxas in complete disbelief, her mouth fallen open in shock. “You _can’t_ be serious.”

“Why not?” Roxas retorted. “He looks all buddy-buddy with her, doesn’t he? Right? You _see_ that.”

She continued to stare at him slack-jawed. “You... _don’t know_ , do you?”

“Know what?”

Xion smirked at him, shrugged, and jogged to catch up with Axel and Kairi. “None of my business!” she called back to Roxas.

“HEY!” Roxas yelled, running after her.

* * *

With a final flap of his wings before they disappeared, Joshua returned to the UG, landing just outside of WildKat, letting out a big sigh.

“Look who’s back,” Hanekoma chuckled, serving him up his favorite coffee. “I had a feeling I’d be seeing you soon. How did it go?”

“To start, they’re pretty darn pissed at me. This is probably gonna hold back me gaining Angelhood for millenia.”

Hanekoma snickered. “That sounds like them. They’ll forgive you, though, since you weren’t an Angel yet.”

Joshua sighed and flexed his fist, feeling the remaining dregs of his power fizzle out. “Eh, that part’s fine. Buncha stiffs. The _bigger_ problem...is that they zapped my powers.” He picked up his cup and drank until it was completely empty.

Hanekoma refilled Joshua’s drink and let out a low whistle. “Ooof. Hate to break it to you, but you might be royally fucked.”

“You’re telling _me_ . They’re not taking this Shibuya from me, since it’s mine and they can’t deny I’ve been doing a good job, but they _are_ going to have a new Composer for the games until he’s erased or he wins and is chosen for resurrection. _Supposedly_ someone unbiased.” Joshua rolled his eyes. “Whateverrrr.”

Another hearty laugh from the scratchy voiced barista. “What did you expect? You broke a big rule. Went to another world, killed someone still alive and marked for removal from all existence so you could gain control over his fate?”

Joshua sneered a little at Hanekoma’s tone. “He’s a _good guy_ . And just because I look like a kid right now doesn’t mean I _am_ one, or that you can treat me like one.”

“You’re acting like one,” Hanekoma returned pleasantly, without missing a beat. “‘He’s a good guy’? That’s a big load from you, who erased your own Conductor just for defying you.”

“He _pissed me off_!” Joshua replied, frustrated.

“Exactly. And you _like_ this Sora kid, so you wanna save him. I get it.” Hanekoma did more than most, since he had been pivotal in saving the very Shibuya that Joshua was now using to try to save Sora. He hadn’t been caught as the Fallen Angel yet, and as long as he stayed in his own universe, he’d remain relatively safe, but the fear constantly hung over him. He didn’t want that for Joshua.

“But,” he continued. “The guys up there are making their own deals with other deities in other universes. And if your friend broke some rules and was slated for elimination, you can’t just waltz in and declare ownership, and that’s what you did. You’re lucky this is your only punishment. If you were an Angel, you’d be instantly Fallen for this, _and_ erased.”

“Spare me the lecture,” Joshua mumbled into his coffee. “Help me out.”

Hanekoma chuckled. “I knew it. So what tools do you want? They won’t help much since you’re effectively not the Composer, and I’ll have to help whoever _is_ declared Composer since I’m still this Shibuya’s Producer, but...”

Joshua served up a pair of puppy eyes that would have most people on their knees. “Actually...I need you to do a _slightly_ bigger favor?” He leaned over, detailing his plan to Hanekoma, whose brow furrowed deeper and deeper until he could only turn to look at Joshua in utter disbelief.

“You’re _crazy_. You think I can do all of that?”

“I _know_ you can. There’s one other thing. They won’t take this Shibuya from me, but...since I took control of Sora’s fate, our destinies are now... _inexplicably intertwined_ , let’s say.”

Hanekoma let his head flop back in frustration, and ran his hand over his face. “Fuck,” he muttered. “You messed this up _bad_.”

For the first time since arriving, Joshua looked genuinely remorseful. “I didn’t think it was fair, what they were going to do to him. Sora’s really a good person. You’d like him.”

“Yeah. I know,” Hanekoma said with a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck, which was starting to get a nasty crick. “You wouldn’t go this far for someone I _wouldn’t_ like.” He held out his hand. “I’ll touch up your phone to stay in contact, but don’t expect much out of it. In the meantime, he’ll need a partner.”

Joshua smiled and handed over his phone. “Already on it. By the time Sora starts the game, he should have arrived.”

Hanekoma narrowed his eyes. “Not P--”

“Shhhhhh!” Joshua quieted. “Who knows what ears are around. Can’t let them find out _everything_.”

“Does he know you’re no longer the Composer?”

“I’m _still_ the Composer. It’s my game and my rules. I just...won’t be able to resurrect people for a while.”

“Does _he_ know that?”

Joshua gave a sheepish grin. “I didn’t think they’d strip me of my powers when we made the deal, so…”

Hanekoma opened the back of the phone and huffily began the adjustments. “You’re a real piece of work.”

“Art,” Joshua corrected.

* * *

“Neku!” Sora exclaimed, running up to his friend. “Oh man, am I glad to see you! Is this _your_ world?”

“Good to see you too, Sora,” Neku began, trying not to frown too much at the reunion, though he desperately wished it was under better circumstances. “And...sorta, but not quite.” He looked down at his hand to check the time, as Noise symbols began to crowd them. “Before we do anything else, make a pact a with me.”

“A...pact?” Sora questioned with a laugh, his posture more relaxed now that a familiar face was with him.

Neku reached out to grab Sora’s hand. “Hey, what gives--” Sora protested, trying to pull his hand back.

The Noise were ready to spawn and attack, and it was clear that Sora didn’t notice. “You _need_ to agree to make a pact with me. Remember? I told you that I have to play with my Partner. _You’re_ gonna be my Partner for real this time.”

“Oh!” Sora laughed. “Why didn’t you just say so? I don’t really get it, but sure, I’ll be your partner!”

Lights appeared around them, which Sora was mostly used to with the keyblade, and his magic, and when it was over, the Noise sigils turned around and began to snatch other Players.

“Whoa--!” Sora yelped, gesturing wildly at the deleted players. “Are--are those _symbols hurting people_? We gotta help’em!”

Neku squeezed Sora’s wrist and began to drag him down the street, toward Hachiko’s statue. “Don’t have time, I’ve gotta explain all the rules to you before we finish the mission!”

“Hey, _let go_!” Sora cried louder, digging his heels into the ground, watching with horror as people vanished before him. He remembered this feeling. Being a child with his toy sword, swatting at the Heartless as they swallowed up his island, unable to do anything.

Feeling powerless. He kicked Neku firmly in the calf. “We can’t just _leave all those people_ ! We have to _do_ something!”

Neku cringed and grunted in pain, but didn’t fall or let Sora go. “You _can’t_ . If I don’t explain what’s going on to you, we’re both dead, Sora! We’re _dead_ . I need you to listen to me and trust me. The same way you wanted me to trust _you_.”

Sora stopped struggling, his face screwed up in one heck of a moral dilemma, took one last look at the people vanishing into nothingness, and began to run with Neku, until they both reached Shibuya Station.

Neku settled against the Hachiko Statue as they both tried to catch their breath.

“What’s going on, Neku? I can’t use my Keyblade, I can’t use my magic. My memory is fuzzy in places, and no one would talk to me, and my _phone_ doesn’t work, and--” Sora glared fiercely at the ground and clenched his fists, willing the tears in his eyes not to fall. “I don’t know what’s happening, and I’m getting _really frustrated_!”

Neku pressed a hand to his forehead and couldn’t help a few sad chuckles. “Aww, Sora. I don’t know you that well or anything, but, it’s my job to keep you around long enough so that...maybe I _can_ learn more about you. So we could be _good_ friends.”

“ _Keep me around_ ? What does that _even mean?_ ”

Neku checked his hand again. It had become a strange habit, one that he kept even in the RG, where there were no Shinigami games or timers to the death to worry about. Forty-seven minutes and four seconds. Still plenty of time. He sighed.

“If you don’t remember how you got here, it won’t make sense even if I tell you, and I don’t know all the details either. But a friend asked me to come back to the Reaper Game to help you. This game, Sora...it’s special.”

“Oh yeah. It’s _real freaking special_ , all right!” Sora retorted sarcastically before immediately feeling bad about the nastiness. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say it that. I’m just...I don’t know. I’m not real smart and with no way to fight...” He shook his head. “It’s the first time in a long time I’ve felt this nervous.”

Neku nodded. “I get it. I was the same way my first game.”

Sora sucked in a deep breath, closed his eyes, and tried to dredge up the positivity that had somehow been buried under the dust of panic. He could do this. He just had to be positive about things.

He forced a big grin across his face, and tried to relax his posture. “Okay. I’m good. Tell me what’s up.”

Neku too, let out a breath before beginning. “This _is_ my world, just like you said. But it’s also not my world. I’m from what’s called the Realground Shibuya, the RG. This is the Underground Shibuya, the UG. This is where...I guess you could call them...hearts, souls, maybe? This is where they go to play the Shinigami game.”

Sora opened his mouth as if to ask a question, but screwed it shut. He had to hear everything, or he’d get lost and miss the details.

“The Shinigami game, or Reaper Game, whatever you wanna call it, takes place over 7 days. A mission is assigned every day, which you get in a message on your phone. They have a time limit. What the missions are exactly...that depends. This is my fourth game. It seems like the first mission is always to go to Ten-Four. It’s the large building you saw when you arrived at the Scramble, with the 104 on it.”

Sora nodded, keeping his lips sealed tightly to prevent his own tendency at outbursts.

“Before you can play, you have to make a Pact with somebody. That person becomes your Partner, and your lifeline. After that, you can learn Psychs and other kinds of powers. Think of it like magic attacks. It seems like they’re limited if you don’t have a Pact. You use these to fight the Noise. They’re those symbols you saw attacking other Players. The Shinigami control them. If the Noise get you, you get erased. In other words...you die forever.”

Sora chewed on his lower lip, and nodded slowly. “That’s why you pulled me out of there.”

“Yeah,” Neku murmured, wondering how he had gotten himself in the position of playing this horrible game to save someone he barely knew, considering what a self-centered prick he’d been _his_ first game. “Shinigami can also turn into Noise and attack directly, but they’re not _supposed_ to. There’s rules that they have to follow. Doesn’t mean they _will_ , but this time around stuff’s in order, so we should be good. Plus, I’m pretty good at psychs.”

“What is this whole game _for_?” Sora finally asked. The words tumbled from his lips; he’d tried, but was unable to hold them back any longer.

“It’s...so we can go back home to our original worlds. For me, that’s the RG. For you, that’s wherever you’re from. To win, you complete all seven missions, one on each day, without getting erased. After that, the Conductor, he’s like the second-in-command, he’ll pick the winners, and the Composer, the guy who created all of this, he’ll send you home. You know him, actually. It’s Joshua.”

Sora crossed his arms and tapped the tips of his shoes against the floor. “Buuuut if it’s Joshua, why can’t he just send us home now? So we don’t have to do all this?”

Neku heaved a big sigh, tugged his phone from his pocket, and hit a few buttons on it. This was precisely why he hated getting involved with stuff that was out of his league. If Sora kept asking questions, how was he supposed to answer them?

 _Stick to the basic rules_ , Joshua had told him.

“Rules, like I said,” Neku repeated, his voice a little short. “He’s bound and can’t break them just cause he _knows_ us.”

“Oh. I guess he’ll still help us if he can,” Sora replied, seemingly back to his good-natured self despite the tear-stained cheeks, red nose and eyes. Neku tried to hide his sigh of relief. At the very least, Sora accepted easy answers.

“Anyway, the most important thing, Sora, is that Partners in this game are considered _one unit_ . That means we have to stay together, no matter what. I know you’re a hero and everything, but you can’t make crazy moves to try to save me. If _you_ get erased? _I_ get erased seven minutes later. And vice versa.”

“Whoa! _That_ seems super unfair!”

“You’re telling _me_ ,” Neku replied, trying not to roll his eyes. “But that means you can’t just bail on me for heroics. Getting yourself erased is getting _me_ erased. I need you to trust that I can protect myself. And I’ll trust that you can protect _yourself_ , okay? Deal?” He held out his hand, hoping that Joshua was watching this and preparing to help out in the extremely likely event that Sora went off the rails.

“Deal!” Sora exclaimed, taking Neku’s hand and shaking it firmly.

“Try to use your keyblade again. You should be able to now that you’ve made a pact.”

Holding out his hand, Sora called upon the power of light, and this time, it responded properly. Kingdom Key was settled in his hand. “Yesss!” he rejoiced, pumping his fist into the air before taking a few practice swings with the keyblade. “Gonna _really_ mess up some Noise with this!”

Neku let out an exasperated noise. “What did I _just_ tell you?”

“I _meant_ within _reason_!” Sora launched back, holding Neku’s eye until the glare made him feel self-conscious. “Mostly,” he muttered under his breath.

Smacking himself on the forehead and letting it go, Neku checked his hand once more. “Twenty minutes to go. Let’s head to Ten-Four.”

“Hey Neku, that reminds me. How come we didn’t finish the mission _before_ you explained everything? Wouldn’t that have made more sense?”

“We’re put to sleep after every mission and we won’t wake up until the next one’s ready to start. Once they’re complete, there’s no telling when we’ll get knocked out, or how much time we’ll have between us waking up and the next mission. It’s safest to chat before the mission’s up, and the first day is best.”

Sora swung his keyblade over his right shoulder. “Got it...sorta, heh. Just lead the way.”

The walk back to the Scramble Crossing, the quick chat with the Support Reaper, and the arrival at Ten-Four all went without a hitch.

“Oh, the timer’s gone, and my hand doesn’t hurt anymore. It’s kind of hard to hold the keyblade with such a big wound.”

“You get used to it. That Player pin go back in your pocket, yet?”

“Huh?”

“The one you dropped before.”

Sora reached into his pocket, feeling the hard cold metal of his Player pin. “Whoa! Is it like a magic trick or something?”

“Or something. Keep that on you, okay? Might come in handy.”

“You got it. Thanks a ton, Neku. I feel a lot better about being here with you around. You really cheered me up. I don’t understand _everything,_ but I don’t feel hopeless anymore either.”

Neku shriveled up on the inside. There was too much he was hiding from Sora to make the game move as smoothly as possible, and it felt like blatant lying. “Don’t thank me just yet,” he muttered under his breath.

“Huh?” Sora asked, leaning in closer to Neku. “You say something?”

“No problem,” Neku sighed.

* * *

 _Where_ are _you going?_

Riku didn’t respond. If Sora had gotten swallowed by darkness, or otherwise vanished, this was the most likely place for him to be.

_He’s not here, you fucking idiot._

“Shut up,” Riku muttered under his breath. It hadn’t been long ago that he’d told Mickey how he felt okay being in the Dark World, but this visit was like his first time all over again. The fear, the anxiety and the worry, the sensation of his heart trying to drum a path through his ribcage.

 _If you’d only listened to me, Sora would have been_ ours _by now._

“I said _shut up_ ,” he tried again in a voice no louder than a whisper, gripping his chest and trying to ease the nausea coming over him in waves. To the fifteen year old Riku, Ansem had always been a perfect picture of darkness. An adult with glittery yellow eyes and a nasty countenance, successfully convincing Riku to let him in with promises of all the power of the worlds and more. He’d lived with that pain for two years, the pain of giving in to his own evil desires and having them amplified, but ultimately, Ansem and Riku were not the same person. It was a simple way for a boy to visualize evil, as its own independent entity separate from himself.

 _If we controlled him, he’d have never left our sight. He’d be safe right now. Go on. Try feeling it out with your heart. It’s connected with his, right? Sora_ left you _and now he’s_ gone _!_

Riku gave a cracked, breathy laugh and tears rolled over his cheeks. “Shit,” he hissed, trembling. Here, the darkness was louder and clearer than it had been in a very long time. “It’s almost enough to make you miss Ansem.”

 _Boo_ hoo _. How_ will _you manage without your convenient scapegoat? It's much different when it's your own face looking back at you, isn't it? Your own voice in your ears._

“Yeah,” Riku agreed, setting the tip of Braveheart down on the ground to give himself a moment’s rest. “It _is_ different. Listening to you...it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. And that’s why I’ll show you. I’ve outgrown you. I’m not going to chain Sora’s heart to mine, no matter what.”

The voice scoffed.

_I hope you can put your money where your mouth is._

Riku hoped he could, too.

* * *

**End Chapter 2.**


	3. Something Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Too many things just feel off, and no one is sure of how to handle that. We finally meet the Temporary Composer for this Reaper Game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is rated PG-15 for slight sexual mention.

The movements were no longer as elegant as they’d once been, since it had been a very long time since she was last at Riku’s house, but Kairi remembered quickly, the sound of the latch in the lock, and the way the door was perfectly silent when it swung open. The layout quickly came into view and at the same time, the memory sketched out the area for her.

Keys went onto the key ring behind the door. Naturally, shoes were left in the entryway, slippers put on. Coats into the closet. Axel, Xion and Roxas followed suit, imitating her moves quietly.

“Just get comfortable in the living room,” she told them. “I need to...fix this dress, and then we’ll all go to my house.”

Within moments, she could hear the TV turning on, and Xion and Roxas starting some kind of wrestling game while Axel tried to calm them down, and Kairi couldn’t help a smile as she grabbed the white vinegar from Riku’s kitchen, and headed back into the hall.

Sora had really collected a band of wonderful friends. His heart shined so brightly that it was easy to want to get close to him.

As Kairi reached the stairs, her countenance darkened. Why then, had Sora been taken away?

What had Kairi been training for? Why bother to become a keyblade wielder?

What fucking _good_ was she?

She gripped the banister so tightly her knuckles turned white.

It wasn’t like she’d ever been into playing princess. She’d been a tomboy, hadn’t she? Two years before. Wanting short hair, and shorts under her skirt. Even over the last year, her style had gone from sporty to...delicate? It wasn’t as if she disliked the clothing, or pink, but she’d just...not really been into it until…

She’d been saved by Sora? Wanted to impress him, maybe?

No. That wasn’t it. It was just what the girls were wearing, merely the style. It was hanging out in a different crowd. When your two best friends were boys, when you spent all your time with them, you played whatever they played. Kairi had been running and jumping and climbing and fighting to keep up with them since arriving on Destiny Islands all those years ago. And then they left her behind, and she’d become a different person.

The upstairs wasn’t as familiar to her, but she did need a bathroom. With blood all over her dress, it would need serious spot treatment.

She first opened the door closest to the stairs. No, that was Riku’s room. Though her mind yelled at her to quickly shut it, Kairi lingered, staring in disdain at the posters of TV shows that Riku had never been interested, toys that he only played with when Sora was around.

God, how she hated Riku back then.

Quickly backing away, she stared at the white door as she closed it, remembering how much trouble Riku had gotten into for painting “No Girls Allowed” on it in red...there were still the faintest pink splotches where his new painting job hadn’t quite cut it.

Riku had done everything to keep Sora away from her, knowing what kind of person Sora was. And Kairi had done everything to pull Sora closer to her. All it had taken was a few well-placed implications about dating at their age, about showing interest as a sign of maturity, and Sora was well on his way to falling right into her lap. She’d been _winning_.

And then Riku cheated, the filthy bastard. Cheated by opening the door to darkness.

She’d been pretty evil herself, hadn’t she?

“If you feel that way, then you should apologize to them both directly.”

Kairi jumped and let out a squeak, sighing in relief when she realized it was Namine. Turning to face her, Kairi didn’t look particularly amused.

“Please do not read my thoughts.”

Namine stood next to her, also staring at the barely visible reminder of the past. “I didn’t. I figured you were feeling the same way I did, looking at this door--”

“How can you be friends with Riku after everything he did to us? To Sora?” Kairi interjected, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

“You know why,” Namine whispered back. “At the end of it all, even though I was content to fade away inside of you, we were never really the same person. Why not ask me why _I_ did all those horrible things to Sora, if you’re concerned?”

Gritting her teeth, Kairi punched that godforsaken door, serving only to hurt her hand. “I already knew that was the part of you that was like me.”

Namine nodded. “Yes. The part of us that wanted to monopolize Sora at all costs. I resented Riku...” she started, clenching her jaw and biting the inside of her lip. “But I resented _you_ , too. Since you were also standing in my way.” Her voice began to tremble, and her hands tightened into fists. “Even now, that he chose you hurts so badly I can’t stand it. Riku and I felt the same way.”

Kairi choked back a self-deprecating laugh. “Bonded over your mutual hatred of me?”

“No. Over our mutual love of Sora.”

Kairi had always known this, but it was easier to hold onto that pain and refuse to let it go, easier than recognizing that Riku had changed, that Riku truly loved Sora, and worse still, that Riku was something she wasn’t. Someone not only willing, but also _able_ to put his life on the line to get Sora back, even though he had to be absolutely heartbroken.

She’d won their struggle for Sora’s affection, but it was so easy to wonder if she was the one who deserved it most.

“Welcome home, Namine,” Kairi whispered. “Is it okay if I hug you now?”

“I’m back,” Namine replied, finishing the greeting. “And I’ve been waiting for you to ask me!”

Kairi pulled Namine close, and they hugged and cried quietly. For Kairi, it was like having a sister she’d never really met, but knew all too well, come home.

When the hug broke, Namine flushed, and began to tap her foot against the wood floor. “Um, since you’re back then...is Sora…?”

Color drained from Kairi’s face, and her head sagged. She couldn’t meet Namine’s earnest gaze. “He’s gotten himself into something rough, and Riku went out to go bring him home. I’m sorry, Namine. It’s my fault. You’ll have to wait a little longer for your reunion with him.”

Without rifling through Kairi’s memories, Namine could guess what had happened. So that was where Riku disappeared to.

Somehow, she couldn’t muster the depression she knew she should be feeling. Instead, there was an emptiness. Maybe her heart was still developing, and it would take longer before she was able to find a place she belonged.

“I...I need to clean my dress. You’ll all stay at my place tonight. Riku’s sorry for being such a flake.”

They both laughed at that one.

“Roxas is downstairs, by the way,” Kairi said, opening the next door, which turned out to be the bathroom. “I’m sure he _really_ wants to see you.”

Now _that_ was a proper response for a working heart, Namine thought as her face went pink. “ _Roxas_?” she squeaked.

With a frilly wave, Kairi closed the door behind her, and listened to Namine hurry down the stairs before dropping the plastic smile she’d sported. Namine deserved some time for her own happiness, instead of being dragged back into Kairi’s problems. Kairi would have to find her own way, without relying on the better versions of herself.

Locking the door, Kairi dumped vinegar over her dress and began the mortifying task of washing her boyfriend’s--no, she and Sora hadn’t even had the chance to define their relationship in those terms--blood from her clothing.

* * *

Riku had always been a straightforward, logical sort. He had learned to cull that around Sora, who rejected reason worse than a toddler spurning a plate of brussel sprouts. Fighting his best friend’s optimism never seemed to do him any good, anyway. And perhaps it had been _because_ of Sora that his analytical brain had developed well enough to operate even while in a desperate panic.

As a small child, Sora had been an incredible sleepwalker. He once managed to make it through the front door of his home and escaped out the front gate. The entire island was called to help search for him, but it was a seven year old Riku that successfully traced his steps and found Sora sleeping soundly in the bushes.

Riku touched his cheek, the whisper of nostalgia making the moment present in his mind. Sora’s mother had been so grateful she caught him in a bear hug and kissed him there, and after that, Riku’s sixth sense about Sora’s whereabouts reigned supreme. After a while, Sora refused to play Hide and Seek with him anymore, which was just as well, since Riku was only playing because Sora wanted to.

“I should’ve noticed it back then. How I felt about Sora,” he muttered to himself as he exited the dark corridor and arrived in Radiant Garden.

Even now, without a connection between their hearts guiding him, and panic rising every moment Sora remained missing, Riku had a carefully curated path to follow. If Sora wasn’t in the Dark World, then he was in another world. One that he could be tracked to.

(Riku refused to accept the possibility that he was dead.)

Once he was back in range, Riku pulled his gummiphone from his pocket and dialed Ienzo, who picked up quite quickly.

“Ahh, Riku? This is a rather surprising call--”

Small talk wasn’t something Riku enjoyed, and at the moment, he didn’t have time to pretend for niceties, either. “I don’t have a lot of time,” he interrupted. “I’m in Radiant Garden. Can you meet with me?”

That surprised the scientist, who raised an eyebrow and considered hanging up the phone, or saying he was busy. But, he still had amends to make to Riku, who he tried to torture at Castle Oblivion.

With a sigh, Ienzo nodded. “I suppose I can pause my current experiment for a meeting.”

“I’m right outside the castle. See you soon.” There was a click; Riku hung up.

As Ienzo put aside his tools and removed his lab coat, he felt he had gained a deeper level of understanding the burden of atoning for one’s sins, though he had no idea what Riku might want, and whether he’d be able to help. When he arrived at the castle gate, he could tell from the sudden chill in the atmosphere that something had gone horribly wrong.

Riku’s face...it was darker than Ienzo remembered even in the basement of that horrid castle. He edged carefully in a circle around Riku to avoid getting too close. He had his teacher, and father, back once more. He was not interested in becoming a Nobody again.

“You said your master was studying Sora, right? While he was asleep. So he should have all kinds of data,” Riku asked, lifting his head to reveal his red eyes.

Ienzo felt ashamed. It was so easy for him to assume that Riku had returned to the side of darkness. He stepped closer. “Yes. Has...has something happened to Sora? Last I heard, he was on a journey to find--I believe her name is Kairi. Your friend from home, correct?”

Riku’s voice lowered to a whisper. “Kairi came back. He didn’t. I’m looking for him, but I can’t track him.” His body slumped. “Connection’s been cut off.”

Ienzo jerked back. “That...shouldn’t be. I’ve examined Sora’s data personally, the strength of the bonds his heart’s formed...it’s not possible for them to be simply _cut_ , unless…” His eyes trailed downward, and he brought his thumb between his teeth, nibbling at the nail. “Unless Sora were d--”

“ _He’s not dead,_ ” Riku snapped, slamming his fist into the stone wall guarding the castle. “ _Are you going to help me or not?_ ”

He wouldn’t describe himself as a fearful man, but the sound of Riku’s fist cracking the stone wall made Ienzo jump, and he swallowed the lump in his throat before thinking a few moments more. “I think you should speak to Master Ansem. He may have some advice that will help you. Either way, Riku...I am sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Riku muttered in reply, his arm dropping to his side. The middle knuckle had split on impact and dripping blood into the grass. “You call him, then.” The last man he really wanted to see at a time like this.

Ienzo eyed his hand, and stepped away without another word to do the needful. He’d fix Riku up once they made it into the castle, if allowed.

Riku turned to look out over Radiant Garden. This place existed in its current glory only because of Sora, a bright, sunny, beautiful place, even though it was in the process of being rebuilt. His countenance softened, and his vision went cloudy as tears filled his eyes. He clenched his teeth to prevent them from falling.

_A grown man crying? How pathetic. If it was up to me, I’d keep Sora chained up. He’s too generous. All the brightness of this world belongs to him, and what are they doing to help him? Nothing. We’re the only ones qualified to take care of him._

“Shut up or I’ll kill you,” Riku muttered with insufficient malice.

 _You won’t,_ his own voice laughed back at him. _You already know we’re the only ones capable of taking on a task like resurrecting the dead._

“He’s _not dead_ ,” Riku repeated amidst the sound of his teeth grinding.

Ienzo returned moments later, and the intrusive thoughts quieted down.

“Master Ansem has agreed to speak with you. I’ll take you to the lab and you can go from there.”

The walk to Ansem’s office was quiet and gloomy, the steps down under the castle echoing all the louder, accented by the silence. Ienzo snuck peeks here and there, but Riku’s face remained steely.

Ienzo hoped his master would be able to offer Riku some assistance. The darkness lurking around the edges of his consciousness, though no longer clearly visible to him, made Ienzo shiver. Was this the dearth of darkness that would spread across the worlds if a powerful light was lost?

“Master Ansem, I’ve brought Riku.” And with that, Ienzo left Riku in the office and returned to his experiment.

He hoped he was wrong about Sora’s demise.

With Ienzo gone, and the door closed behind him, Riku’s already abysmal mood intensified. He’d called Ienzo because he didn’t want to deal with Ansem the Wise, DiZ, whatever he was calling himself nowadays. After using them, Riku, Namine, and Roxas, Ansem had tried to kill Namine and expected that Riku would assist him.

Riku was not in the habit of killing the harmless. Especially after they’d just saved the person he loved most in the world.

He didn’t like Ansem. Either of them.

“Riku, I’m honored that you would come to me for help, especially after everything I’ve put you through. Ienzo has given me an overview of the situation, but would you mind informing me of the details?”

“I _would_ mind,” Riku replied abruptly. “I just need a way to track Sora’s heart.”

Ansem gave a dejected smile. The response was as expected, and he would respect Riku’s feelings on the matter. He turned to his personal computer and began to type.

“I do not have any means by which to track Sora’s heart in particular, but when Namine put Sora to sleep in hopes of restoring his lost memories, we needed a way to track them down. And so, I crafted a device, implanted into Sora by Namine’s magic, and that is how we were able to manage.”

“You _will_ be removing that device from Sora when I find him,” was Riku’s only response.

“Of course,” Ansem assured. “It only remained because I became indisposed, and Namine returned to Kairi.” He didn’t bother to lie and say removing it had always been his intention. Sora was a unique specimen, and likely contained countless key answers to improve his work.

But, he was done hurting children and claiming it was for humanity’s sake.

The computer screen pulled up a map of the universe. “We need only tune into the device, which is on Sora’s physical person, and it will show us the location of any parts of him. If there were a lot of memories, the lights here would get brighter. Smaller amounts would be dim. As those in Sora’s heart are now free, you should expect some faint false positives.” After a few more keystrokes, the map began to light up.

All of the lights that appeared were weak, barely perceptible. They centered on Destiny Islands; that was undoubtedly Roxas, Xion, and Namine. One, so subdued it was barely visible, was in the Land of Departure. That must have been Ventus.

Riku shook his head, starting to feel his hope reach the end of its rope. “No,” he murmured in a hushed tone. “None of these are him.”

Ansem frowned. “It would seem as if Sora has simply disappeared. And I take it you’ve searched the Dark World already. Let’s search in other parts of the universe.” The screen began to change, zooming in and out, showing areas they had never needed to travel to, ones so far flung the Heartless could not reach.

Riku began to tremble. Was this another dead end? Without a single clue to go on, there weren’t many options left--

Then, in a remote corner  of the map, the only place within the device’s reach that hadn’t been explored, on a world that seemed so large in comparison to the ones Riku had traversed, a light so feeble it could scarcely be called one at all flashed, and vanished.

“There,” Riku whispered, pointing. “I saw something. Get closer.”

Ansem obliged. “If you see something flashing, it’s undoubtedly mere feedback to the readings. It’s not as if Sora could be fading in and out of existence--”

Another quick flash. Riku was ready to catch it. “There. I saw it again. Where is that?”

Turning to Riku, Ansem could see that his face was stern, focused. He was serious about that tiny light. “Riku. While I do not know the circumstances under which you’re seeking Sora, I can assure you that this map is of all places that a heart and all its fragments could be, as long as it remains intact in some form. The blinking you see is a simple glitch. According to these readings, Sora may no longer exist. If you could assist me, and give me more information--”

Riku’s eyes were as firm as steel when he turned to look at Ansem, his voice soft when he spoke. “I would like to know where this place is. Coordinates, if it’s not too much.”

His mind was made up. Ansem bowed his head. “Alright then, Riku. I’ll have a map prepared and some tools to help you. It will take a few hours. In the meantime, at least allow Ienzo to make updates to your phone, so you can contact us at greater distances.”

Without complaints, Riku handed over the phone, and turned on his heel to leave. He’d stay with Yuffie, Leon, Aeris and Cid, rest and preserve his strength (and sanity) until the necessary information was in his hand to depart. He tugged open the door, paused, and looked back at Ansem the Wise. “Thank you. I apologize for my earlier...disposition.”

“It was nothing more than I deserved,” Ansem replied. “If I can be of any further use to you or Sora, please do not hesitate to reach out.”

_Why does scum like him get to live, while Sora is barely clinging to existence somewhere?_

“I will,” was all Riku said as he left the office, shut the door behind him.

 _So why_ did _you let Sora go off alone? And we didn’t even go with him to find the Power of Waking, though he could have easily gotten himself in trouble without most of his powers. It’s not like us._

Riku knew that already. The sound of his teeth grinding grated in his ears.

 _Oh, I get it. You tried to think about it_ logically _, pretend that you had missions as a Master, business to take care of. Told yourself Donald and Goofy were with him. That’s pretty clever of you._ That _worried about the massive hard-on we got when he jumped into our lap?_

Riku lifted a hand and began to scratch violently behind his ear, and when he pulled it back, the fingernails were laced with blood. _Keep it together. You’re almost to Sora._

_Aren’t you so lucky he didn’t notice it as he crawled all over us? We sure had fun that night, didn’t we. Until our balls were empt--_

Riku punched a wall and let out a loud roar of anguish. His skin felt clammy and sweaty as workers in the castle stopped to stare at him, and he bowed his head apologetically and rushed back through a dark corridor.

* * *

“How about a round of introductions?” said the new Composer. Like Joshua, he shone in such a dazzling light that his very face was obscured by the brightness. His voice was calm and friendly, and though his mannerisms were a little wild, the Shinigami hung off his every word. “I know I’m only gonna be here a few weeks, but I’d like to get to know everyone at least a little.”

The new Conductor stood sharply at attention, seeming a little young, extremely high strung, with curly black hair and large, very green eyes that seemed to shift a little too much. Contacts, probably.

“K--Konae Hanemasa, sir! I’ll be serving as the new Conductor, sir! My blood type is A, and my hobbies are drawing and designing puzzles. _Sir_ !” he snapped, saluting and audibly smacking himself in the forehead before sitting back down with equal vigor. Konae’s enthusiasm shriveled as the other Shinigami began to laugh.   
  
“Oh brother,” said one tall one in the back with a laid back attitude, standing casually with his hands gesturing to the empty air. “Mister Goody Suck-up over there is a hard act to follow, but I’m this week’s Game Master. Name’s Luxu. _Just_ Luxu.”

“Okay, okay, guys,” the Composer began, holding his hands out to settle the room. “Konae here is your Conductor. That makes him my numero dos. Let’s show the man some respect, right? I bet he worked his butt off to get here!”

Luxu rolled his eyes and chuckled, sitting back down. “I mean, whatever floats your boat, dude.”

The room became quiet. One did not simply mouth off to the Composer. Hell, even the last person to try to take on Joshua tried to wait until he was at his weakest to take him out only to fail in spectacular fashion and get erased. Twice.

But, this Composer didn’t seem to mind at all. “Hey now, I did pick you to be my Game Master. It’s your first time, right? That means I recognize your skills too! I’m just asking you all to respect my decision-making. Alright, Luxu?”

The tall man shrugged and sat down with a chuckle.

“Luxu’s a _weird_ name,” snarked the bodysuit-wearing redhead, standing. “Your parents name you after a video game character?”

Luxu only grinned, completely unaffected. “My old man really liked Latin.”

“Whatever! I’m Yashiro Uzuki. Harrier Reaper. The strawberry blond is Kariya Kouki. He’s the same.” Kariya lifted his hand in greeting.

After that, the meeting calmed down and each of the remaining Shinigami introduced themselves. The interim Composer clapped his hands in delight. “Excellent! So about the game will run this time around...welp. I can’t _actually_ change anything, since this isn’t my Shibuya, and your regular Composer’s really just on, like a vacation, so I’m obligated to follow the original rules. My job is to make the final decision and do the resurrecting. You all can just do what you would normally! Luxu will pick the missions, Konae will make sure the Reapers are doing their jobs...feel free to reach out to him if you have any questions, since _he’s_ the one that studied all the rules! Any questions?”

The Reapers looked amongst each other for a moment. None had any questions they were willing to voice. Something about the new Composer...it put them on edge more than Joshua had.

Just the meeting itself was strange...the Composer usually never bothered. Too busy. Too important for the lower level Shinigami, only ever interacting with the Conductor.

The Composer, though his expression was hidden underneath his hood, threw the gathering of Shinigami finger guns and laughed. “Then let the games...begin!”

* * *

_How is it going?_

_Terrible. He’s...I don’t know how to explain it, but something’s wrong with him._

_Wrong? Like how?_

_Can’t say. Dunno him that well. Seems like he’s just kind of going through the motions, though. Almost freaking croaked on the second day._

Joshua took a while to answer Neku’s text. _Must be his entry fee._

Neku heaved a big sigh. _I know I told you not to tell me anything, but what_ was _his fee? That Riku guy you said was on your side of that weird town?_

_Mmn. I think that’s probably part of it._

_Part of it? That’s not the whole fee? You all take two now?_

_No way. I’m saying that probably...it’s the part of his heart that holds Riku. It’s an immense injury to everything that makes Sora...light._

_...yeah, forget what I said, I don’t wanna know anymore._

_Just...keep watch over him, okay?_

_Yeah, yeah. If we don’t live through the third day, I’m going to haunt your ass as a Noise._

_Deal._

Neku looked over to Sora as he put his phone away. Poor thing had soaked through his shirt with sweat, his face was flushed and clearly freaked. “Sora,” Neku prodded gently. “You alive over there?”

The mission was over, but they hadn’t gone to sleep yet. “Yeah. Didn’t expect that fight at the end was all.”

“Fighting missions are normal, but it can be surprising if you got caught up on the first mission. Don’t think too hard about it.”

Neku reached out his hand to Sora, who was still lying on the ground. “Come on. We’re going to fall asleep soon, so let’s make the best use of it.”

When Sora looked up at him, Neku was taken aback. Sora’s face was haunted, as if he’d just seen a ghost. Besides the ones playing the Reaper’s Game alongside them, anyway.

Neku kneeled by his side. “What’s wrong, Sora?”

But the moment had passed, and Sora grabbed hold of Neku’s arm to bring himself to his feet, his face still pensive. “Something’s weird...off. I’m not sure how to describe it, but I felt like I couldn’t draw out my strength like usual.”

Neku bit the inside of his lip. “What do you mean? Your fighting looked mostly the same as before, at least to me.”

“Yeah?” Sora said, his face lighting up with hope, before he pressed his mouth into a grin and brought his arms to rest behind his head. “Must be my imagination, then!”

Sleep came shortly after to overtake them, and Neku hoped he remembered to tell Joshua about that when they next awoke…

* * *

**End Chapter 3.**


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